Schulich Heart Program

Clinical Administrative Assistant: Nita Dalal-Weber
Phone: 416-480-6066
Email: nita.dalalweber@sunnybrook.ca

Dr. Wijeysundera is chief of the Schulich Heart Program and division head for cardiology at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. He is an interventional cardiologist with a specific interest in transcatheter aortic valve implantation and coronary chronic total occlusions. He is the provincial cardiac lead for Ontario Health-CorHealth Ontario.

Senior Administrative Assistant (research): Tasneem Dalal
Phone: 416-480-4975
Email: tasneem.dalal@sri.utoronto.ca

Education:

• PhD, University of Toronto, Canada
• MD, University of British Columbia, Canada
• FRCP, internal medicine and cardiology, U of T, Canada
• FCCS, fellow of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society
• FAHA, fellow of the American Heart Association

Appointment & Affiliations:

• Chief, Schulich Heart Program, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
• Canada Research Chair in Structural Heart Disease Policy and Outcomes
• Senior scientist, Evaluative Clinical Sciences, Schulich Heart Research Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute
• Division head, Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
• Staff cardiologist, Schulich Heart Centre, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
• Professor, Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, U of T
• Professor, Department of Nedicine, Division of Cardiology, U of T
• Full member, School of Graduate Studies, U of T
• Senior adjunct scientist, cardiovascular program, Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, U of T

Research Foci:

• Health services research
• Health technology assessment

Research Summary:

Dr. Wijeysundera's research program focuses on health technology assessments predominantly in cardiovascular disease using decision analytic models, which are populated and validated using real-world administrative data for clinical outcomes and health care costs. This work was recognized by the 2011 Canadian Cardiovascular Society Young Investigator Award, a Distinguished Clinician Scientist Award from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and an Early Researcher Award from the Ontario Ministry of Research, Innovation and Science (formerly known as the Ministry of Research and Innovation). Using these techniques Dr. Wijeysundera has collaborated with multiple decision-making groups, including the Canadian Cardiovascular Society, CorHealth Ontario, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario, and Health Quality Ontario to produce policy relevant research. He is a Canada Research Chair in Structural Heart Disease Policy and Outcomes.

Selected Publications:

See current publications list at PubMed.

Related News and Stories:

• Targeted triage and more funding needed to improve heart procedure process: For trans-catheter aortic valve implantation surgeries, careful patient selection is essential (SRI Magazine, 2018)
• From the heart: summer student digs into research into advanced cardiac care (July 22, 2016)
• A celebration of cardiac research: Researchers showcase heart program’s cutting-edge work (Nov. 25, 2015)
• HOT: The Heart Outcomes Team is Steering Prevention, Practice and Policy: New studies show Canadians have a long way to go toward achieving ideal cardiovascular health; chest pain patients do best when seen after leaving emergency room; and better criteria might be needed for selecting who should have coronary angiography (SRI Magazine, 2015)
• A Tale of Two Heart Procedures: Surgery vs. angioplasty: research settles the great debate (SRI Magazine, 2013)
• Competition spurs high scores: Scientists secure funding with federal agency (July 25, 2013)
• Million-dollar heart research (June 30, 2011)
• Fewer Ontarians dying of heart disease (May 12, 2010)

Related Links:

• U of T profile, Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation
• Toronto Health Economics Technology Assessment collaborative
• Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technology in Health (CADTH)